Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

"Being able to read is always a good thing. Even if you think it's useless, you shouldn't be dissatisfied, right?"

"It's... not really dissatisfaction," Zhou Defu said with a tangled expression, and after a while he said, "I just think it's troublesome.

It's good for children at home to have that kind of brains, but if they don't have that kind of brains, they won't learn anything even if they are sent to school.

From the age of eight to fifteen, you can help with a lot of housework. Even if you don’t work, you can always take care of your younger brothers and sisters and take care of the house…”

"The community school should be closed during the busy farming season, so it shouldn't affect much of our work."

"Hey, it's not like I only have work during those few days. I have a lot of things to do at home. I never have a spare moment."

"So there's no benefit in sending your kids to school?"

Logically speaking, if Fu Qingyun didn't allow the yamen runners to summon and arrest them, he would have thought of raising their monthly wages. So is there no incentive for compulsory schooling?

"Yes, there are... Every year, the county selects students with outstanding academic performance from the community school and gives them awards. Moreover, students who are still studying there can be exempted from corvée..."

Although it is said as a good thing, Zhou Defu does not seem to agree that it can be considered a benefit.

In fact, if you think about it, you can understand that since enrollment is compulsory, there must be a lot of students, but only a few of them will have excellent grades, and it cannot benefit everyone.

As for exemption from military service, people only need to serve at the age of fifteen, so it has little practical significance.

However, with the power that County Magistrate Fu Qingyun has, this is about all he can promise.

"Do you have any children attending community schools now?"

Zhou Defu looked a little helpless: "My eldest and second child are both in school, so there's no one to take care of the third child. It's okay to have a holiday this month, but when school starts in a few days, I'll have to take the third child to the fields."

This is indeed a bit inconvenient.

Qin Yunhe asked Zhou Defu many questions about the county before letting him leave.

Afterwards, Qin Yunhe called in the last person involved in the exam-fixing incident for questioning. He questioned the examinee, the whistleblower and the witness, and they all expressed that they had no objection to the county magistrate's handling of the matter.

Finally, Qin Yunhe naturally asked these people about the situation in the county.

Fu Qingyun's actions are indeed well-received in the county. Even regarding the community school, not everyone thinks it is troublesome like Zhou Defu does.

After all, these people are all scholars, so they naturally understand the importance of reading.

It was already noon when the last few people left.

In the afternoon, the county's money and grain books, case files, etc. were delivered.

Qin Yunhe checked the money and grain records of the past two years and asked the officials to take them to the granary to check them one by one, but there was no problem.

It seems that Fu Qingyun has indeed governed Nanping County very well, and his actions have not made it difficult to collect grain taxes.

In the following days, Qin Yunhe was busy reviewing the case files. He was so busy that it lasted until June, and he finally completed the review of the case files of Nanping County.

Qin Yunhe looked at the time and saw that the community school should have started, so on that day, Qin Yunhe called the clerk and asked him to take him to the nearest community school.

Although it was already June and the heat was at its peak, Qin Yunhe did not take a carriage considering the short distance, but asked the clerk to take him there on foot.

Qin Yunhe was chatting with the clerk as he walked to the community school.

"Do you have any brothers or nephews studying in the community school?"

"Your Excellency, my nephew has just turned eight and is currently attending community school."

"Oh? What do you think of the county's mandatory schooling for children between the ages of eight and fifteen?"

"This is a good thing. My brother originally sent his nephew to school, so the community school was more economical. In the past, most of the teachers in the community school were students, and they didn't teach well. Now the county magistrate has invited many very knowledgeable scholars, and it's no worse than a private school."

In this way, people should be more willing to send their children to community schools.

"What good ideas did Magistrate Fu have to invite the scholar to be a teacher?"

"Actually, there's nothing special about it. The magistrate just gave me a generous reward and invited me here together with the teacher."

The two of them were talking and soon arrived at the nearest community school.

As I approached the entrance of the community school, I could hear the faint sound of recitation coming from inside. Walking into the door, I saw a small courtyard, and the recitation sound came from the left side.

Qin Yunhe walked towards the sound of recitation and found a classroom with more than a dozen boys aged eight or nine. A teacher was leading the boys in reciting the Three Character Classic.

The clerk introduced from one side: "Sir, this side is for boys under ten years old, they basically learn the Three Hundred Thousands, and that side is for older children, they will be taught some poetry and classics."

Qin Yunhe listened for a while and then strolled to the other side. Sure enough, a teacher was teaching poetry.

After listening to almost everything, Qin Yunhe took a look around the community school. The buildings had obviously been renovated and did not look dilapidated. It was obvious that someone had been cleaning and tidying them up for a long time.

……

As soon as Qin Yunhe and the clerk left the house, a clever clerk ran back to the county government office to report the news to Fu Qingyun.

"Okay, got it."

In the past few days, Qin Yunhe asked various people in the county about various measures in the county. He also checked the money and grain books repeatedly and read the case files again and again. Naturally, Fu Qingyun knew all this.

County Magistrate He was discussing something with Fu Qingyun: "Your Excellency the Inspector is afraid of being deceived by you and me."

Fu Qingyun smiled and said, "I knew the inspector was a pragmatic person. I don't even want to go out on such a hot day, but the inspector went to the community school. Haha."

Qin Yunhe came out of the community school with a bit of a feeling of unfulfilled desire: "Is there any lively place around here? Take me to find it."

"Sir, the sun is getting higher and higher. It's too hot. How about I take you there tomorrow? Otherwise, if you get a heat stroke, I won't be able to take the blame."

"It's all right. I don't feel that hot. I'll just take a walk and go back."

"Sir, it's getting hot now. Apart from those who work in the fields, most people stay at home. There's nothing lively going on."

Qin Yunhe thought for a moment and said, "Then take me to the home of the head of a nearby village."

Although the clerk was worried that he would be blamed if the inspector fell ill due to fever, he had no choice but to take Qin Yunhe to the headman's house since the inspector insisted on going.

The village head often went to the county government office as an errand boy, so he naturally recognized the clerk. When he saw the clerk was accompanying him, he immediately guessed that it was the inspector.

Qin Yunhe asked the head of the village many more questions about the situation in the county before saying goodbye and going back.

It was not yet 11:00 when they left the house, and it was already the end of 9:00 when they returned.

The sun was getting higher and higher, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter. Qin Yunhe was sweating all over, and he was almost soaked when he returned to his place.

Qin Yunhe didn't let Hesheng go with him. When he saw Qin Yunhe coming back all sweaty, he quickly asked someone to bring an ice basin.

Looking at Qin Yunhe's face, which was red from the sun, and his lips were a little pale, he said anxiously, "Why did you come back at this time? You'll get a heat stroke in this weather."

Qin Yunhe felt that he was completely hot, and smiled bitterly, "It wasn't that hot before, but I didn't expect it to be so hot all of a sudden. Please help me take off my coat to cool down."

The clerk who took Qin Yunhe out was a little worried when he saw him like this: "Sir, do you want to ask a doctor to come and see you?"

"It's okay, go down and take a rest. I'll take a rest too."

Qin Yunhe was indeed feeling a little uncomfortable at the moment. He was just unable to bear the heat before, but after sitting for a while, he began to feel dizzy and had a slight headache.

Qin Yunhe no longer had the strength to speak, so he just lay down on a rattan chair and closed his eyes.

He Sheng looked at Qin Yunhe and saw that he was not in a good state: "Sir, are you really okay?"

"It's okay, I'll lie down for a while."

He Sheng had no choice but to put the ice basin aside and fan it hard to cool it down.

When Qin Yunhe opened his eyes again, he felt dizzy and as if his internal organs were about to turn inside out.

Qin Yunhe was so uncomfortable that he lay back down: "Hesheng, how about we ask for a doctor?"